Using the image of the lollipop as a symbol of both innocence and sexuality, this self-portrait calls out the conflicting and often dehumanizing expectations placed on women by a culture that expects us to live up to its ideal of feminine purity, while simultaneously fetishizing our bodies as mere sexual objects. Painted in a highly detailed, naturalistic style, this work defies these expectations, reveling in the grotesque reality of the body as a means of empowerment.

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Website | www.hannahzizza.com